Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

While our nation has been experiencing supply chain challenges, we also are experiencing catastrophic conditions on our roadways with recently released crash fatality figures for last year revealing that nearly 43,000 people were killed, a 16-year high. This included an increase in large truck-involved crashes which killed 5,601 people, a rise of 13%, the highest number of fatalities in a single year since 1988.

In his 29 years in the grain industry, Kurt Haarmann, senior vice president of grain, for Portland, Oregon, US-based Columbia Grain, said hed never used the phrase, Ive never seen this before, until this spring, when war broke out between Russia and Ukraine, severely limiting grain shipments from the Black Sea region. Besides the war between two major grain exporters, the grain industry is dealing with ongoing supply chain issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic

When a U.S. freight railroad engages with a rail shipper of bulk commodities to haul goods, the railroad must abide by terms expressed in federal code. That federal code is known as the common carrier obligation. According to the definition for common carrier obligation, a rail carrier providing transportation or service subject to the jurisdiction of the [Surface Transportation Board] under this part shall provide the transportation or service on reasonable request.

Welcome to the WHAT THE TRUCK?!? newsletter. In this issue, the grossest truck accident of the year; dead cat bounce for spot rates; shippers fight trucker OT pay; and more.

Despite sky-high diesel fuel costs, the USDA in late May reported generally adequate truck supplies for most produce growing regions and truck rates that are generally below year-ago levels. That could change in the coming weeks, as produce volume will increase seasonally and domestic demand for transportation is likely to increase, one trucking analyst said. Diesel prices were hitting record levels in late May.

Legislation aimed at ensuring overtime pay for truckers is getting close scrutiny from a major shipper group that plans to fight hard against it if the bill starts to gain steam. The Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act, introduced in April by Rep. Andy Levin, D-Mich., would repeal the motor carrier exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), an exemption that excludes many drivers from overtime pay protections.

The conventional wisdom at this time is that most of the world has moved on from the pandemic (except for China); therefore, supply chains will return to normal. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The world has permanently changed and supply chains are going to face continuing challenges for decades to come. Among those challenges are:

A local judge and rancher in Loving County, Texas, and three other men were arrested on Friday and booked on multiple felony charges of organized crime and livestock theft, in connection with an alleged estray cattle-theft operation as part of a year's-long investigation in southwest Texas. Skeet Lee Jones, 71, is a local ranch owner who also has served as a county judge since 2007. Also arrested with Jones were former Loving County sheriff's deputy Leroy Medlin Jr., 35, Cody Williams, 31, an

Jared brings on Josh Holstein with CellARide to discuss their new technology, 'MyCarRecall'. Josh dives into what this software does and explains it has 3 simple steps: 1. Take a picture of your license plate 2. Text that picture to 99724

Omaha, Nebraska-based LGT Transport announced it has acquired Jason Thomas Trucking, a provider of liquid fertilizer transportation in the Midwest. The acquisition of Hastings, Nebraska-based Jason Thomas Trucking boosts LGT Transports growth in the agricultural sector, officials said. Jason Thomas Trucking shares our same commitment to drivers and customers, said Pam Spaccarotella, CEO and founder of LGT Transport, in a release. We believe together, we will create

Over the next two years federal regulators are expected to propose new trucking regulations that will significantly alter the world in which professional drivers, motor carriers, and trucks operate. Precisely how these regulations come about their timing, cost, and content are strongly affected by politics, the economy and by you, through your comments to the rulemaking dockets. Register for the webinar, 7 Trucking Regulations That Could Change Your World. Hear f

A fraternal dispute that has boiled for years has resulted in what appears to be the largest shareholder buyout case in Minnesota history.

Used truck auction prices dipped in April as freight demand softened, but the doubling in cost of acquiring low-mileage pre-owned equipment over the last year will take months to return to anything resembling normal. And even with the peak crested, prices will be much higher than the historic gap between new and used Class 8 tractors, according to J.D. Power Valuation Services. Pricing is still extremely high by historical standards particularly for the newest trucks available

Real-time data suggests that one major cause of supply chain headaches in the United States a shortage of available trucking is coming to an end. But it also is signaling that the economy could be at an inflection point.

Improving driver retention has been a focal point of the U.S. Department of Transportation in recent years. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, in particular, has spent a lot of time stressing the importance of the issue. We lose about 300,000 truck drivers a year, Buttigieg said during a Senate committee hearing earlier this month. We have to look at everything from working conditions to compensation The sooner we can address those, the sooner we can not on

In additional to deteriorating freight-related metrics, there appears to be little relief from the three key macro-related themes of 2022: war in Ukraine, supply chain disruptions, and inflation, which means market participants are increasingly weighing the risk of a recession, said Eric Crawford, vice-president and senior analyst with ACT.

Cargill has unveiled plans to build a new soybean processing facility located in Pemiscot County, Mo. near Hayti and Caruthersville to support growing domestic and global demand for oilseeds driven by food, feed and fuel markets. The facility will be the first of its kind for Southeast Missouri with an annual production capacity of 62 million bushels of soybeans. Cargill anticipates breaking ground on the project early next year with plans to be operational in 2026. The new facility will add

International Roadcheck Week is hardly the sexiest topic in trucking, but it is a darn-tootin important one. Inspectors in the U.S. and Canada halt tens of thousands of trucks for vehicle inspections for a few days every summer or early fall. They remove thousands of trucks and drivers from the road; in 2021, 16.5% of inspected vehicles were put out of service along with 5.3% of drivers.

Australias biggest grains business will bankroll roughly a dozen start-ups through a new $30 million corporate venture capital fund in hopes that new technologies will propel the 104-year-old company and its culture into the future.

Trailer orders plummeted nearly 60% month over month in April as manufacturers faced so much uncertainty that they booked only orders they could confidently deliver. COVID shutdowns in China, the war in Ukraine, inflation and worsening supply chain disruptions muted orders, according to FTR Transportation Intelligence. Preliminary trailer orders fell to 16,800 units in April. That was 53% below March but 4% ahead of the same month a year ago. ACT Research forecast net orders of 16,100 units,

This is our 200th episode and we can't thank our listeners enough! Thank you for supporting this show and helping us become a resource in this industry. In this episode, Jared brings on BulkLoads Member, Jared Ross. Jared shares his story on how they have created multiple logistic businesses. He discusses his passion for this industry and where he started out.

Everyone knows Mike Simpson wants to breach four dams on the lower Snake River. Ive said Simpsons plan is totally absurd. Mr. Blair Moncur recently wrote I falsely claim Simpsons dam breaching proposal will take away precious water from Idahos farmers. Mr. Moncur called me a slick lawyer trying to use a false hot button issue to get votes because the dams are located in Oregon and Washington, and no Idaho farmers pump water upstream from

LYON COUNTY, Ky. (KFVS) - Two western Kentucky men pleaded guilty to stealing more than $350,000 from a Lyon County grain elevator company. Gerald Kent Kingston, 61, of Elkton, and Bobby Joe Merrick, 72, of Princeton, both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud on Wednesday, May 12. According to a release from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, as part of the plea agreement, they will be required to pay $354,870.

Chattanooga, Tennessee-based U.S. Xpress announced that it is cutting 5% of its corporate workforce in an effort to slash costs after the truckload carrier reported last week losing more than $8.9 million in the first quarter. Brad Carmony, VP of brand communications for U.S. Xpress, said the decision to cut about 70 of its 1,400 office employees, working mainly in information technology, company operations and back-office support, was necessary for the health and long-term success of

In a report to Congress released this week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration emphasized that the costs of catastrophic truck or bus crashes have increased significantly over the past 40 years. FMCSA also noted that while such crashes are rare, the costs of resulting property damage, injuries and fatalities can significantly exceed minimum levels of financial responsibility.

The American Trucking Associations published a list of the products exempted under the pandemic-fueled relief. The three energy productswhich ironically were added just as their peak winter usage season is endingwere listed along with gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and ethyl alcohol, which already were exempt. The other areas exempted are: Livestock and livestock feed

Is the booming market for trucking services truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) finally slowing down after an unprecedented two years of demand following the COVID-induced economic lockdown of early 2022? To read the headlines of the financial press, one might say the answer is yes. But talk to the top trucking executives in the country, and one might find a different answer.